Ochocinco gives soccer a shot

TribLIVE Sports Videos

Email Newsletters

Traveling by Jeep, boat and foot, Tribune-Review investigative reporter Carl Prine and photojournalist Justin Merriman covered nearly 2,000 miles over two months along the border with Mexico to report on coyotes — the human traffickers who bring illegal immigrants into the United States. Most are Americans working for money and/or drugs. This series reports how their operations have a major impact on life for residents and the environment along the border — and beyond.

By The Associated Press

Thursday, March 24, 2011

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Switching from football to soccer won't be easy for Chad Ochocinco, if it happens at all.

Locked out of his day job, Ochocinco opened a four-day tryout with Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday and, by the end of his first day with the Major League Soccer team, the star receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals was panting for breath.

"Exactly what I expected," the six-time Pro Bowler said. "I would be a little winded being that I haven't ran at this pace or this level since the end of our season of football. It was fun. I didn't expect to come in here and be Superman."

Ochocinco plans to go through with the tryout and, if possible, join the team. He insisted he was motivated by love for a sport that was his first choice until his grandmother persuaded him to focus on football after the 10th grade.

"I would play for free," he said.

Wearing No. 85, of course, Ochocinco worked out with more than 40 media representatives lining the practice field, roughly 10 times the number that normally show up for a midweek workout. He moved fluidly on the cold, blustery day and was taller than almost all of the professionals on the field.

His athleticism was obvious — and so was his soccer rust after so many years away from the game.

"The time I've had off from the game of this football has been a very long time," he said. "There's no way I can make up that ground, the years I've been away from the game, but I do have a love for it."

With NFL players locked out and a court fight looming, Ochocinco has said now is a good time to check into another sport. Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes said he tried to use the practice to help Ochocinco get acclimated to something new. For much of the day, he had individual instruction from assistant Zoran Savic.

"He was a little bit hesitant early on, a little bit tentative," Vermes said. "But I think now he's got a good feel for what a day goes like for us. You can see he's very coachable. I wouldn't try to make any determinations at this point."

Vermes knows many people will view the tryout as a publicity stunt, either by Ochocinco or the team.

"I've always considered it from the very beginning to be a long shot. But I can tell you this: We bring trialists in all the time," Vermes said. "To be frank, they're always long shots. But we also bring guys in with much lesser physical tools than he has and they get trials with us as well. It's very normal in our sport to do this."

Ochocinco said he encountered no resentment from the established players when he showed up.

"I don't think I'm going to take anybody's job. It's not going to happen," he said. "These guys have been playing this game for years, and I'm trying to make the transition from football to football. To come in here and take someone's job is pretty farfetched."

Knowing he'll return to the Bengals when the NFL players and owners settle their differences, Ochocinco said he would be content just to practice with Sporting Kansas City.

"That would be fun," he said. "(When) we're able to go back and play, I'll be in better shape than everyone else because I might be the only one training at this level."

TribLive commenting policy

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments  either by the same reader or different readers.

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sent via e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.

Total Promotional Solutions

A division of Trib Total Media is your one-stop-shop for all of your branded merchandise needs.

We specialize in providing quality affordable promotional products for every type of business including non-profits, schools, universities, sports teams and more. With 1000’s of products to choose from, our knowledgeable staff can help you find the perfect apparel item or product to suit your needs and budget.

Digital Sales

We offer a wide variety of traditional and new digital advertising options customized to fit your needs!

Whether you're just starting out, or you've been a keystone in the community for years, our knowledgeable staff can provide you with a customized package including online banners/advertisements, Social Media Marketing (Facebook / Twitter), Website development, Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing solutions and much more!

Contact your local sales rep today for details, personalized proposal and a meeting to discuss how we can meet your needs.